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The Great Piratical Rumbustification
Wild and wonderful, these stories will appeal to all readers of fine children's literature, and Blake's illustrations, full of spirit and exuberance, are the perfect accompaniment of Mahy's vigorous tales.The Great Piratical Rumbustification introduces us to Alpha, Oliver, and Omega Terrapin, alone for an evening of devilish fun and none other than Orpheus Clinker, a reformed pirate cleverly transformed into a respectable babysitter. Or has he reformed? Before you can say "Yo Ho Ho" the Terrapin household has become headquarters of the century's biggest pirate party.The Librarian and the Robbers is an equally tickling tale of a band of wicked robbers who one day carry off Serena Laburnum, a beautiful librarian. Follow what happens as the lovely and learned Miss L. not only outwits the robbers, turning them into outstanding citizens, but also teaches them the everlasting pleasures of library science.
Paperback
First published January 1, 1978
About the author
Margaret Mahy
333 books291 followersMargaret Mahy was a well-known New Zealand author of children's and young adult books. While the plots of many of her books have strong supernatural elements, her writing concentrates on the themes of human relationships and growing up.
Her books The Haunting and The Changeover: A Supernatural Romance both received the Carnegie Medal of the British Library Association. There have 100 children's books, 40 novels, and 20 collections of her stories published. Among her children's books, A Lion in the Meadow and The Seven Chinese Brothers and The Man Whose Mother was a Pirate are considered national classics. Her novels have been translated into German, French, Spanish, Dutch, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Finnish, Italian, Japanese, Catalan and Afrikaans. In addition, some stories have been translated into Russian, Chinese and Icelandic.
For her contributions to children's literature she was made a member of the Order of New Zealand. The Margaret Mahy Medal Award was established by the New Zealand Children's Book Foundation in 1991 to provide recognition of excellence in children's literature, publishing and literacy in New Zealand. In 2006 she was awarded the Hans Christian Andersen Award (known as the Little Nobel Prize) in recognition of a "lasting contribution to children's literature".
Margaret Mahy died on 23 July 2012.
On 29 April 2013, New Zealand’s top honour for children’s books was renamed the New Zealand Post Margaret Mahy Book of the Year award.
For more information, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret...
Her books The Haunting and The Changeover: A Supernatural Romance both received the Carnegie Medal of the British Library Association. There have 100 children's books, 40 novels, and 20 collections of her stories published. Among her children's books, A Lion in the Meadow and The Seven Chinese Brothers and The Man Whose Mother was a Pirate are considered national classics. Her novels have been translated into German, French, Spanish, Dutch, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Finnish, Italian, Japanese, Catalan and Afrikaans. In addition, some stories have been translated into Russian, Chinese and Icelandic.
For her contributions to children's literature she was made a member of the Order of New Zealand. The Margaret Mahy Medal Award was established by the New Zealand Children's Book Foundation in 1991 to provide recognition of excellence in children's literature, publishing and literacy in New Zealand. In 2006 she was awarded the Hans Christian Andersen Award (known as the Little Nobel Prize) in recognition of a "lasting contribution to children's literature".
Margaret Mahy died on 23 July 2012.
On 29 April 2013, New Zealand’s top honour for children’s books was renamed the New Zealand Post Margaret Mahy Book of the Year award.
For more information, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
July 8, 2010
Delightful stories, with equally delightful illustrations!
November 23, 2018
I preferred the librarian story to the pirate one. Blake's illustrations are ideal.
January 10, 2023
The final scraps of my respect for Neil Gaiman fell away when my child checked out his book Pirate Stew from the local public library and we realized it is a cheap knockoff of The Great Piratical Rumbustification.
January 9, 2013
It's got the word "Rumbustification" in it...how much better can you get?
June 30, 2017
I really enjoyed this book. Some children's books show their age more than adult books because, as read-alouds at least, young children have a hard time relating to outdated language or situations that are vastly different from their own. That said, my six year old students loved this book. It even got me making up and singing songs about rumbustifications.
The second story has a bit of a pantomime feel to it, but it's also very enjoyable.
This caused me to dig up another Mahy book, which I enjoyed, but these two stories really stand out. Still a lot of fun.
The second story has a bit of a pantomime feel to it, but it's also very enjoyable.
This caused me to dig up another Mahy book, which I enjoyed, but these two stories really stand out. Still a lot of fun.
January 4, 2023
Leggere questi libri da adulti fa bene, perché siamo tutti sig. Tartarughi e abbiamo un bisogno enorme di capire che spesso la soluzione è riconoscere la necessità della festa, anzi del trambusto molto piratesco.
July 10, 2017
Margaret Mahey and Quentin Blake. A great match.
August 3, 2017
Cute short stories; nice easy read. Great for young readers.
October 11, 2017
Great stories but a lot of big words for wee ones.
April 18, 2019
Hurray! Wonderful stories AND they're funny. Mahy is always great.
November 20, 2019
Ah! What a delightful pairing of whimsical writing and drawings.
August 11, 2022
I got this because I loved the word "rumbustification". And seriously, what a fabulous word!
And I was not disappointed. It was a charming short tale.
And I was not disappointed. It was a charming short tale.
January 18, 2023
Great read aloud. Some vocabulary is a bit advanced for little ones.
February 22, 2023
Very fun. Colorful, adventurous, silly.
December 24, 2025
Jätterolig mysig bok. Verkligen Roald Dahl style. Fanns inte en tråkig stund.
Quentin Blakes illustrationer är ju underbara också såklart
Quentin Blakes illustrationer är ju underbara också såklart
July 26, 2016
When I was a child Margaret Mahy's The Blood and Thunder Adventure on Hurricane Peak was one of my favorite books. Therefore, I was excited to read another of her books, particularly one illustrated by Quentin Blake, well-known for his work on Roald Dahl's popular children's novels (The BFG, Matilda, The Witches, etc.). The Great Piratical Rumbustification & The Librarian and the Robbers did not disappoint. The book consists of the two separate short stories indicated in the title. The first relates a fantastical party thrown almost Cat in the Hat style by aging pirates, to the delight of three young boys who long for adventure. The second tells the story of a beautiful librarian who manages to thwart and improve the lives of a band of robbers through the use of her library collection (extra kudos to Mahy for this library-based plot).
Both stories are delightful. The reader is treated to characters that are exceedingly strong for a children's novel. While reading, I could easily visualize the father in The Great Piratical Rumbustification - his money woes, and the desire to better the situation for his family, as well as the mother - her accommodating persona, her willingness to put up with her boisterous sons, and each and every pirate with a speaking part was a fully-realized swashbuckler. Likewise, in The Librarian and the Robbers, as the lovely Serena Leburnum quietly but efficiently uses her skills as a librarian and considerable intellect, her personality simply jumps right off the page. It was impossible not to root for her as she dealt with the no-so-dastardly robbers who kidnap her for ransom.
Both tales are outlandish and wonderful. Perhaps it is because Mahy (may she rest in peace) was from New Zealand, but whatever the reason, these stories are refreshing in their lack of cliches and flat-out fun. Mahy dives right into the cockamamie action; the most absurd turns of events are played out in a whimsical and entertaining ways. I think adults needing an escape will enjoy this silly roller-coaster kind of action just as much as any kid out there.
My only regret with The Great Piratical Rumbustification & The Librarian and the Robbers is that more stories were not included. Of course, this is for children, but after I finished The Librarian and the Robbers I was ready for another dose of ridiculousness and frivolity. I may go dredge up my old copy of The Blood and Thunder Adventure on Hurricane Peak, and send a mental note of thanks out into the ether for one of the authors who inspired me to read and keep reading. Mahy was certainly an integral part of developing a love of reading in me, and I think she'll continue to do the same for children for many years to come.
Read the full review, including Cyndi's take at Dueling Librarians.
Both stories are delightful. The reader is treated to characters that are exceedingly strong for a children's novel. While reading, I could easily visualize the father in The Great Piratical Rumbustification - his money woes, and the desire to better the situation for his family, as well as the mother - her accommodating persona, her willingness to put up with her boisterous sons, and each and every pirate with a speaking part was a fully-realized swashbuckler. Likewise, in The Librarian and the Robbers, as the lovely Serena Leburnum quietly but efficiently uses her skills as a librarian and considerable intellect, her personality simply jumps right off the page. It was impossible not to root for her as she dealt with the no-so-dastardly robbers who kidnap her for ransom.
Both tales are outlandish and wonderful. Perhaps it is because Mahy (may she rest in peace) was from New Zealand, but whatever the reason, these stories are refreshing in their lack of cliches and flat-out fun. Mahy dives right into the cockamamie action; the most absurd turns of events are played out in a whimsical and entertaining ways. I think adults needing an escape will enjoy this silly roller-coaster kind of action just as much as any kid out there.
My only regret with The Great Piratical Rumbustification & The Librarian and the Robbers is that more stories were not included. Of course, this is for children, but after I finished The Librarian and the Robbers I was ready for another dose of ridiculousness and frivolity. I may go dredge up my old copy of The Blood and Thunder Adventure on Hurricane Peak, and send a mental note of thanks out into the ether for one of the authors who inspired me to read and keep reading. Mahy was certainly an integral part of developing a love of reading in me, and I think she'll continue to do the same for children for many years to come.
Read the full review, including Cyndi's take at Dueling Librarians.
February 25, 2017
Fun librarian story for a librarian to read aloud.
January 18, 2010
Another small chapter book that I read to my almost 6 year old girl. I think that I can safely say that anything Quentin Blake illustrates I'm on board with.
This book has 2 short stories and I loved the pirates one best, my daughter loved the librarian one best. In the pirate story a pirate named Orpheus Clinker (best name ever!) gets hired to babysit 3 boys and initiates a great Piratical Rumbustification party that night in which pirates from all over the city come out of hiding to attend and eat stew, drink rum and shoot guns. The story of the librarian being kidnapped by robbers who then get sick and she has to read to them all delighted my kid.
A good one to pick up when your little kid is getting into chapter books. Just enough illustrations to keep it interesting but long enough to count as a real book.
This book has 2 short stories and I loved the pirates one best, my daughter loved the librarian one best. In the pirate story a pirate named Orpheus Clinker (best name ever!) gets hired to babysit 3 boys and initiates a great Piratical Rumbustification party that night in which pirates from all over the city come out of hiding to attend and eat stew, drink rum and shoot guns. The story of the librarian being kidnapped by robbers who then get sick and she has to read to them all delighted my kid.
A good one to pick up when your little kid is getting into chapter books. Just enough illustrations to keep it interesting but long enough to count as a real book.
February 15, 2010
I picked this up for a quick read on a hard day and found myself refreshed and renewed. I loved the first story- it had some small twists that I didn't see coming "too" early, the writing was intelligent and witty and I laughed how many times the lovely word rumbustification was used. I also enjoyed the second story for it's wit but it was a little more predictable. Both stories had strong flavor of Roald Dahl which was made stronger by the illustrations of Quentin Blake (R.D.'s illustrator).
October 3, 2013
Two very short stories suitable for bedtime reading or for emergent solo readers.
With lovely Dahl-esque illustrations (one looks a lot like Mr and Mrs Wormwood!), some bored boys and bored pirates together manage to hold a fantastical rumbustification while their parents are out. And in a short chapter of a story, a sensible and brave librarian stands up to her robber captors and cures them of measles (and possibly their dastardly ways as well!).
Enjoyable bedtime fare, from a well-known writer, both good stories to encourage young children to pursue good stories.
With lovely Dahl-esque illustrations (one looks a lot like Mr and Mrs Wormwood!), some bored boys and bored pirates together manage to hold a fantastical rumbustification while their parents are out. And in a short chapter of a story, a sensible and brave librarian stands up to her robber captors and cures them of measles (and possibly their dastardly ways as well!).
Enjoyable bedtime fare, from a well-known writer, both good stories to encourage young children to pursue good stories.
May 18, 2010
"Two books worth of story crammed into 63 magical pages, full of robbers tricked by librarians and retired pirates who know how to party and revive the joys of boyhood (while paying the bills). No impossibly articulate child protagonists with clearly defined goals or desires, no rhyme or reason, just a pair of stories cut from the same cloth as books by Willaim Stieg and Roald Dahl."
— David Elzey, the excelsior files
— David Elzey, the excelsior files
October 1, 2012
The Great Piratical Rumbustification and The Librarian and the Robbers by Margaret Mahy, illustrations by Quentin Blake – Fantastic book(s), love the characters, retired pirates, tough librarian reforming robbers, and parents who break out of monotonous routines and enjoy life… Since I’ve been reading articles left and right on the transition to letting go of Dewey in the library, I found The Librarian and the Robbers a pleasant book to jump back in time with, if only for a little while.
November 16, 2009
Very cute and funny. We've enjoyed many of Mahy's picture books (most notably The Great White Man-eating Shark . . . if you can find the video version of it at the library, you won't be sorry!). This was a bit longer, but still a short read. Mahy is as close to Roald Dahl as you can get--the tone, the vocabulary, the general craziness, and illustrations by Quentin Blake to boot.
March 17, 2015
42 WORD REVIEW:
Two stories by New Zealand’s doyen of children’s books: the second, a quietly subversive extolment of libraries; the first, a droll yet puckishly young-at-heart parable on quality of life, with bonhomous pictures by Quentin Blake and an endearingly rumtiddlyumptious neologism to boot!
Two stories by New Zealand’s doyen of children’s books: the second, a quietly subversive extolment of libraries; the first, a droll yet puckishly young-at-heart parable on quality of life, with bonhomous pictures by Quentin Blake and an endearingly rumtiddlyumptious neologism to boot!
November 7, 2007
Clever and witty. The most pleasant bands of pirates, robbers, thieves and kidnappers you could ever hope to encounter. Charming illustrations by Quentin Blake, best known for his illustrations of Roald Dahl books.
September 12, 2015
The book is illustrated by Quentin Blake, which is just a choice move. The rumbustification is the better story of the two, IMHO. The other story is good, there's just not as much story. And there's not the word "rumbustificaion."
September 20, 2009
If you've ever missed Roald Dahl and wished he was still alive, Margaret Mahy is a close second. Love her humor!
March 20, 2014
This is a little obscure but worth tracking down. How can you not love a book whose chief pirate is named Terrible Crabmeat?
February 4, 2014
Very funny book about some pirates who are longing for the old days of rabble-rousing. They find the house of a young boy, and decide to have a party!
February 19, 2013
Brilliant bedtime stories
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews